The present invention relates in general to the field of computers, and more particularly to electronic mail (e-mail). Still more particularly, the present invention relates to monitoring e-mail correspondence between a mentor and a protégé.
It is widely agreed that mentoring can lead to a lifetime of success for a youth, particularly one who may be at a higher risk of failure due to various socio-economic factors. To participate in such a worthwhile activity, many volunteers agree to mentor school-aged children through electronic mail (e-mail) correspondence. Mentors are often matched with a particular child or classroom by volunteers from a corporation, or through a social services enterprise dedicated to such activities. Unfortunately, resources usually do not allow for a thorough character and background screening of the mentors. Such lack of screening may expose a protégé child to a mentor who is ill-equipped for the job, or, at worst, is a child predator. Thus, what is needed is a method for monitoring mentor and protégé e-mail traffic, to ensure that mentors and protégés are conscientiously e-mailing back and forth, and to monitor messages for any inappropriate or alarming content.